7 ms·

Touch screens in cars should be banned. The interaction affordances are abysmal compared to physical controls, and tactile feedback is obviously non-existent. N

Touch screens in cars should be banned. The interaction affordances are abysmal compared to physical controls, and tactile feedback is obviously non-existent. Not to mention that as the author mentions, many UI targets are too small to touch accurately without diverting a significant amount of your attention from driving.

chrisseaton 7y ago
> The interaction affordances are abysmal compared to physical controls I find scrolling a map is far more natural on a touch screen compared to physical controls.
- alanbernstein 7y ago
  Do you often need to scroll a map on your car's screen?
  - chrisseaton 7y ago
    Yes. To see where I'm going to be going or find something. Do you not?
    - TylerE 7y ago
      No? I just enter my destination and let it actually navigate
      - chrisseaton 7y ago
        I often look around on the route to see if it's suitable, what I'm going to past, where I might stop, things like that. Just entering the destination and going without looking first is a recipe for being one of those idiots trying to drive down an unsuitable country lane, in my experience.
        TylerE 7y ago
        In years of using Waze for thousands of trips I've had that happen exactly zero times. It also has functionality built in to find things like restaurants and gas stations near your active route.
        deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
        cglace 7y ago
        How do you handle being rerouted? Also, how do you handle routes for 12 hour drives?
        deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
      - jessaustin 7y ago
        Wow, the world has all kinds of people. This attitude is bizarre to me. It seems similar to something I've heard before, "Why would I look in the rearview mirror? All that stuff is behind me so I don't care about it!"
        TylerE 7y ago
        No, it's really not at all the same. I'm using a tool for the job it was designed to do (and does very well). That doesn't mean I don't pay attention. I'm just not arrogant enough to think I'm better.
        jessaustin 7y ago
        a) "The tool" does afford the ability to scroll around and change zoom levels; that probably required some "design" to do that. b) Is it "arrogant" to think that I understand my own goals and preferences better than a mapping app? Yikes.
    - alanbernstein 7y ago
      I don't drive a car. Whenever I watch someone using navigation while driving, the map follows the route,so there is no need for that.
      - chrisseaton 7y ago
        > the map follows the route,so there is no need for that This is how you end up driving on an unsuitable route, by not looking ahead about where it’s going. And sometimes you want to see what else is around you and not just program a destination.
- clebio 7y ago
  The physical dial knob on BMW's is pretty awesome for this.
- vortico 7y ago
  Sliding your fingers on glass/plastic has roughly just one primitive analog in the real-world: dragging paper on a flat surface. Scrolling a virtual map or zoomed-in digital photo is a rare application of that. Everything else that touch screens can do are very poor analogies of real-world things we can do with our hands and fingers, like press buttons and turn knobs.
  - matt-attack 7y ago
    I wonder if I've ever in my life, pressed my pointer finger onto any piece of paper (map or otherwise) which was sitting on a table in order to drag the paper around. Certainly to point, but never to drag.
- cglace 7y ago
  And yet I very rarely need to do that while driving. If I really needed to I would just use my phone.
a-wu 7y ago
I disagree. Touch screens without accompanying physical controls, maybe, but I don’t think touch screens should be banned. I’m a quadriplegic and drive a heavily modified van. I accept that I belong to an extremely small demographic but without a touch screen I wouldn’t be able to control any secondary functions. I think the way my Chrysler Pacifica does it is nice- there’s an 8” touch screen but also physical controls for the HVAC and media.
- Bonooru 7y ago
  How does driving as a quadriplegic work? What are tools and modifications that make it possible?
  - cyberferret 7y ago
    I am assuming you mean paraplegic? Don't know of many quadriplegic people who can (or would be allowed) to drive, but I know a couple of paraplegic people who do. I was surprised at how little (and quick) the modifications were to a standard car to make them accessible. Really only the mounting of a grip knob on the wheel, and a side handle for the throttle/brake. There were other mods such as pull down strap handles for the boot lid etc., but by and large the biggest mods were those two in the cockpit.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - chrisseaton 7y ago
      > I’m a quadriplegic and drive a heavily modified van > I am assuming you mean paraplegic? This is the most contrary Hacker News I've seen yet. Do you honestly think it's likely that someone is mistaken about whether they're paraplegic or quadriplegic?
      - tom_ 7y ago
        A more charitable interpretation would be that parent is replying to grandparent alone, having found the comment on 'new', and is unaware of the great-grandparent comment that prompted it.
CarVac 7y ago
The best implementation I've tried of a touchscreen-like interface was the Lexus Remote Touch, where you control a cursor on the screen with a physically-moving sliding x/y controller, with force feedback so that it physically "snaps" to buttons.
smsm42 7y ago
I don't mind touch screen for secondary functions, like GPS or media controls, which should not be operated (too much) while driving anyway. But making everything touch based is completely boneheaded and I don't plan on buying any car that increases my risk of death and injury this way.
- m_mueller 7y ago
  Exactly. For entering target locations to a GPS while parked it's perfect. Just leave AC and car controls alone and give me a volume knob.
GordonS 7y ago
My beef with touchscreen controls is the lack of physical feedback, such that I need to glance at the screen to know if the intended thing happened. I much prefer physical controls on the steering wheel for anything I want to do while driving - media related stuff, cruise control, speed limit, flappy-paddle gears, that kind of thing. In an ideal world, this is paired with a HUD, but I'll settle for a small display in the console in front of the steering wheel. When using satnav though, a touchscreen is so much easier to input, and use to pan and zoom around a map than physical controls - but I only ever do this while stationary. A halfway house might be prohibiting use of the touchscreen while driving, but how do you differentiate between passenger and driver? At the least, I'd like haptic or/and audio feedback when making a touch though.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
vortico 7y ago
I fully agree. See http://worrydream.com/ABriefRantOnTheFutureOfInteractionDesign/ http://worrydream.com/ABriefRantOnTheFutureOfInteractionDesi... for why touch screens are the worst possible interface device, and when used while driving, they are the most dangerous possible interface device.
kova12 7y ago
Physical controls serve double purpose. When you are reaching for the button, you first touch it with your fingers without pressing. This allows you to target the right button without pressing it, and without focusing your eyes on it. Touch controls will trigger every time you touch it, so you can not find it by touch and then press it, thing just doesn't work like that. That steals your attention away from the road and into the screen.

chrisseaton 7y ago

> The interaction affordances are abysmal compared to physical controls I find scrolling a map is far more natural on a touch screen compared to physical controls.

alanbernstein 7y ago
Do you often need to scroll a map on your car's screen?
- chrisseaton 7y ago
  Yes. To see where I'm going to be going or find something. Do you not?
  - TylerE 7y ago
    No? I just enter my destination and let it actually navigate
    - chrisseaton 7y ago
      I often look around on the route to see if it's suitable, what I'm going to past, where I might stop, things like that. Just entering the destination and going without looking first is a recipe for being one of those idiots trying to drive down an unsuitable country lane, in my experience.
      - TylerE 7y ago
        In years of using Waze for thousands of trips I've had that happen exactly zero times. It also has functionality built in to find things like restaurants and gas stations near your active route.
        deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
      - cglace 7y ago
        How do you handle being rerouted? Also, how do you handle routes for 12 hour drives?
        deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
    - jessaustin 7y ago
      Wow, the world has all kinds of people. This attitude is bizarre to me. It seems similar to something I've heard before, "Why would I look in the rearview mirror? All that stuff is behind me so I don't care about it!"
      - TylerE 7y ago
        No, it's really not at all the same. I'm using a tool for the job it was designed to do (and does very well). That doesn't mean I don't pay attention. I'm just not arrogant enough to think I'm better.
        jessaustin 7y ago
        a) "The tool" does afford the ability to scroll around and change zoom levels; that probably required some "design" to do that. b) Is it "arrogant" to think that I understand my own goals and preferences better than a mapping app? Yikes.
  - alanbernstein 7y ago
    I don't drive a car. Whenever I watch someone using navigation while driving, the map follows the route,so there is no need for that.
    - chrisseaton 7y ago
      > the map follows the route,so there is no need for that This is how you end up driving on an unsuitable route, by not looking ahead about where it’s going. And sometimes you want to see what else is around you and not just program a destination.
clebio 7y ago
The physical dial knob on BMW's is pretty awesome for this.
vortico 7y ago
Sliding your fingers on glass/plastic has roughly just one primitive analog in the real-world: dragging paper on a flat surface. Scrolling a virtual map or zoomed-in digital photo is a rare application of that. Everything else that touch screens can do are very poor analogies of real-world things we can do with our hands and fingers, like press buttons and turn knobs.
- matt-attack 7y ago
  I wonder if I've ever in my life, pressed my pointer finger onto any piece of paper (map or otherwise) which was sitting on a table in order to drag the paper around. Certainly to point, but never to drag.
cglace 7y ago
And yet I very rarely need to do that while driving. If I really needed to I would just use my phone.

a-wu 7y ago

I disagree. Touch screens without accompanying physical controls, maybe, but I don’t think touch screens should be banned. I’m a quadriplegic and drive a heavily modified van. I accept that I belong to an extremely small demographic but without a touch screen I wouldn’t be able to control any secondary functions. I think the way my Chrysler Pacifica does it is nice- there’s an 8” touch screen but also physical controls for the HVAC and media.

Bonooru 7y ago
How does driving as a quadriplegic work? What are tools and modifications that make it possible?
- cyberferret 7y ago
  I am assuming you mean paraplegic? Don't know of many quadriplegic people who can (or would be allowed) to drive, but I know a couple of paraplegic people who do. I was surprised at how little (and quick) the modifications were to a standard car to make them accessible. Really only the mounting of a grip knob on the wheel, and a side handle for the throttle/brake. There were other mods such as pull down strap handles for the boot lid etc., but by and large the biggest mods were those two in the cockpit.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - chrisseaton 7y ago
    > I’m a quadriplegic and drive a heavily modified van > I am assuming you mean paraplegic? This is the most contrary Hacker News I've seen yet. Do you honestly think it's likely that someone is mistaken about whether they're paraplegic or quadriplegic?
    - tom_ 7y ago
      A more charitable interpretation would be that parent is replying to grandparent alone, having found the comment on 'new', and is unaware of the great-grandparent comment that prompted it.

CarVac 7y ago

The best implementation I've tried of a touchscreen-like interface was the Lexus Remote Touch, where you control a cursor on the screen with a physically-moving sliding x/y controller, with force feedback so that it physically "snaps" to buttons.

smsm42 7y ago

I don't mind touch screen for secondary functions, like GPS or media controls, which should not be operated (too much) while driving anyway. But making everything touch based is completely boneheaded and I don't plan on buying any car that increases my risk of death and injury this way.

m_mueller 7y ago
Exactly. For entering target locations to a GPS while parked it's perfect. Just leave AC and car controls alone and give me a volume knob.

GordonS 7y ago

My beef with touchscreen controls is the lack of physical feedback, such that I need to glance at the screen to know if the intended thing happened. I much prefer physical controls on the steering wheel for anything I want to do while driving - media related stuff, cruise control, speed limit, flappy-paddle gears, that kind of thing. In an ideal world, this is paired with a HUD, but I'll settle for a small display in the console in front of the steering wheel. When using satnav though, a touchscreen is so much easier to input, and use to pan and zoom around a map than physical controls - but I only ever do this while stationary. A halfway house might be prohibiting use of the touchscreen while driving, but how do you differentiate between passenger and driver? At the least, I'd like haptic or/and audio feedback when making a touch though.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

vortico 7y ago

I fully agree. See http://worrydream.com/ABriefRantOnTheFutureOfInteractionDesign/ http://worrydream.com/ABriefRantOnTheFutureOfInteractionDesi... for why touch screens are the worst possible interface device, and when used while driving, they are the most dangerous possible interface device.

kova12 7y ago

Physical controls serve double purpose. When you are reaching for the button, you first touch it with your fingers without pressing. This allows you to target the right button without pressing it, and without focusing your eyes on it. Touch controls will trigger every time you touch it, so you can not find it by touch and then press it, thing just doesn't work like that. That steals your attention away from the road and into the screen.